Hyderabad: NHRC School Row, Electoral Roll Delays, and JNTU Campus Unrest

The National Human Rights Commission has issued notices to the Telangana government after allegations surfaced that a private school in Saidabad mandated Islamic religious lessons for all students. Separately, Hyderabad has been ranked among the worst-performing districts in the state's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, with just 37.50 percent of voter forms digitised. Students at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad have also escalated a hostel dispute to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, demanding the removal of certain administrators and a state-wide university grievance mechanism.

NHRC Issues Notices to Telangana Over School's Mandatory Religious Lessons

The National Human Rights Commission has issued notices to the Telangana state government following allegations concerning a private school in the Saidabad neighbourhood of Hyderabad. According to reports published on 17 July 2026, the complaint before the NHRC alleged that the school made Islamic religious lessons and prayers compulsory for its students. The Commission took cognisance of the matter and sought an Action Taken Report from Telangana authorities. The NHRC further directed that a formal inquiry be conducted into the allegations and required a response from the state within two weeks. The case falls under the domain of human rights and liberties and raises questions about whether the mandatory imposition of religious instruction and observance in a private school setting is consistent with applicable constitutional and legal protections. The NHRC's decision to formally engage with the matter signals that the body considers it a question of sufficient public interest to warrant direct state accountability. The Telangana government has been given a defined deadline to report on what steps are being taken in response to the Commission's direction. [9]

🗳️ Hyderabad Ranks Near Bottom in Telangana Electoral Roll Digitisation

Hyderabad has emerged as one of the worst-performing districts in Telangana's ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, according to a status report released on 18 July 2026 and published by the Siasat Daily on 19 July. The district achieved full distribution of Enumeration Forms, with 100 percent of forms having been handed out across the electorate. However, the digitisation phase has lagged substantially. Only 17,76,189 forms have been processed digitally out of the district's total electorate of 47,36,669, giving Hyderabad a digitisation rate of 37.50 percent, the second-lowest in the state. Medchal-Malkajgiri registered the lowest rate at 34.67 percent, while Ranga Reddy stood at 46.25 percent. Several other districts have performed significantly better. Yadadri Bhuvanagiri topped Telangana with 87.91 percent digitisation, followed by Siddipet at 82.97 percent, Nalgonda at 82.05 percent, and Rajanna Sircilla at 80.31 percent. Across Telangana as a whole, 2,14,13,166 of the state's 3,38,26,436 registered voters have had their forms digitised, placing the statewide progress at 63.30 percent. Hyderabad's low rate despite 100 percent form distribution points to a disconnect between physical outreach and back-end data processing. [5]

🎓 JNTU Hyderabad Students Write to Chief Minister Over Hostel Harassment

Students at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Hyderabad have escalated a campus dispute directly to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, writing to him with allegations of harassment by university administrators, as reported by Telangana Today on 18 July 2026. The complaint was submitted by the Students Protection Forum, which took up the matter on behalf of affected students. The grievance centres on disputes over hostel room allocations at the university, with students alleging that administrators responsible for managing the hostels subjected them to harassment during the course of those disputes. In their letter to the Chief Minister, the Students Protection Forum put forward two specific demands. First, they called for the removal from administrative positions of the professors identified as responsible for the alleged harassment, particularly singling out those from Andhra Pradesh who hold university administrative posts. Second, they demanded the creation of a state-wide university grievance cell to provide students across Telangana's universities with a formal and dedicated mechanism for raising complaints against university administration. The matter reflects ongoing tensions at JNTU Hyderabad around campus governance and student welfare, with students opting to bypass internal university channels and appeal directly to the state government. [3]

Sources: [9] Telangana Today · [5] siasat.com · [3] Telangana Today